


The Hero of Spirits

by Namian_Velius



Series: Hero of Spirits [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Spirit - Freeform, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24328192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Namian_Velius/pseuds/Namian_Velius
Summary: Behold! The speedy engineer known as the Hero of Spirits.Or the Hero of Trains/Spirit Tracks/Whatever floats your boat.
Series: Hero of Spirits [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1756393
Comments: 55
Kudos: 193





	1. Enter, the Hero of Spirits!

**Author's Note:**

> I know some do it, but I refuse to merge WW/PH with ST. Mostly because Niko and Zelda. Niko is old in this one and has ties to Wind, and Zelda is a completely different person in terms of personality and looks.

The warmth of day was a major contrast to the frigid coolness of the portal that had been traveled through. Nine heroes, all of them named Link, filed out of the hole one-by-one until, finally, it disappeared.

"Hey, guys, I think this is my ocean!"

Wind had on a beaming smile as he looked over at the water. Legend himself eyed it with a mild look of disdain. "How can you tell?"

"All of your oceans look like shit compared to mine. And I'm a pirate, it's my _job_ to know my ocean." Wind glanced around at the area before frowning. "Though I don't remember coming across this island before..."

"Check out over here," Warriors spoke up. He had drifted a couple feet from the group and was looking down at the grass. He raised his head up to lock eyes with Time. "Mining rails."

Time blinked and, sure enough, rails decorated the grass and made a long path on either side of the group. "This far from the mountains?"

"Not to mention that these tracks are a bit too wide for a mine cart," Legend stated. "At least that means that there is civilization _somewhere_ near here."

"So pick a side and start walking?" Hyrule questioned.

The group looked at one another and nodded.

Everyone fell into a very loose formation. Time was in the front with Four, Twilight was with Warriors and Hyrule, Wind was telling a completely _true_ story about a Big Octo taking down a raft of Bokoblins in between Sky and Wild, and Legend pulled up the rear. With the lack of trees, it was actually a really peaceful walk. Nobody had to worry about being ambushed or trapped. For this moment, a majority of the Links had equipped brows just because of the advantage they would give. It was incredibly peaceful.

Then they came across a boar.

It was a large boar. Wild's eyes grew the size of dinner plates and both him and Twilight fell into an arguement about hunting it. Four watched them go on with a deadpanned expression when the entire group had to stop so that they wouldn't be left behind.

"You don't _need_ it," Twilight growled. "We have enough _._ "

"We can always use more! Legend, tell him!"

Legend looked taken aback to be thrown into the conversation. Of course Wild stretched out for help from a fellow hoarder. The veteran rolled his eyes when gazes fell onto him and eyed Wild with a displeased expression. "You're on your own."

Wild's eyes widened and he looked like he had been betrayed.

"Um, guys?" Sky pointed in the direction of the boar while his brows knitted together concern. "That boar is charging at us."

And it was. With it's eyes screaming murder, the boar was sprinting down the rails in their direction as though they had personally offended it.

"It looks like it heard you, Wild," Hyrule stated quietly.

"See, Twi? It's asking to be eaten."

Twilight groaned and held his face in his hand as the champion pulled back the string of his bow with a grin. He released the arrow and it went sailing through the air, smack into the face of the boar.

It should have died. If not dead, then it should have at least been stunned. Instead, it only seemed to anger the beast more and it increased his speed. A second arrow didn't even slow it down.

"What kind of boar is that?" Warriors demanded incredulously. Time unsheathed his Biggoron Sword in preparation for a fight.

How was he to know that the beast was going to _jump_?

Four glanced away just as tusks locked with steel when a sound was beginning to gradually rise in the air. He wasn't _that_ worried because Time was strong, and already Twilight and Warriors began to assist him. He blinked as his eyes caught sight of something coming from the rails. Something large and metal and spewing steam from the top.

_Chuga-chuga chuga-chuga chuga-chuga._

"Guys?"

If Four wasn't worried much, he was now. The battle was happening on the rails and, if he were to go by the speed and velocity of the moving metal bearing down on them, the wounds received upon impact would be huge.

"What the hell does this thing _eat_?" Warriors demanded. Not only did this boar have thick hide that made it difficult to cut, Time and Twilight were wrestling with the breserking ball of fur.

"Guys, get off the rails now!"

Time risked a glance over and his singular eye widened. Then he grit his teeth and addressed the two helping him.

"Warriors, Twilight, back off. I have a plan."

Trusting his judgement, Warriors shot one last venomous look at the squealing boar before moving away. Twilight was a bit more hesitant, but he did the same. The full weight of the attacking beast was enough to make Time grunt and take a step back, but he quickly steeled himself and pushed. His single eye lingered on the incoming body of metal and he waited for the right moment.

_Whooo. Whoooo._

There. With one last growl, Time shoved the boar away from him and quickly backpedaled from the rails. There was a loud screeching sound, the mass of metal sped past, and collided with the beast.

The boar went flying some leagues away. Everyone stared wide-eyed as the mechanism, a machine, slowed to a complete stop. Then the cannon that most certainly was on there began to shift and aim at the boar.

Sky's jaw wasn't the only one that slackened when they saw the monstrosity pull itself back up to it's feet.

The cannon fired and the boar screamed when the shell struck. Dirt sprung up in the form of a cloud and hid the beast from view. The heroes watched on with disbelief. It should be dead, yes? It most certainly had to be.

Then there was the tell-tale sign of the cannon being reloaded. Second passed, each moment feeling like minutes spreading out before them, then the boar came squealing from the dust with absolute rage.

_Boom._

The shell went whistling through the air and slammed right into the boar's body.

It died. It _finally_ died. It only took being slammed into by an enormous amount of metal and two cannonball, but the beast was finally dead.

 _"What the fuck,"_ Legend whispered.

There was movement inside the machine. A person peered out from the side with big blue eyes. No, not a person, a teenager. And one that looked extraordinarily like an older Wind.

"Travelers, huh? Why didn't you guys catch a train?"


	2. Looking for Link

No, it wasn't an older Wind. Now that the initial shock had worn off, Four can see the subtle differences that set the two apart. The look-alike had a different facial structure, his body frame was more equipped to pick up heavy loads, and his hair was clearly more naturally windswept than their sailor's. Other than that and the age, it would have been the perfect replica of Wind.

"Seriously, taking a Bullbo on like that? Are you _trying_ to get yourselves killed?"

The teenager's voice was more brash and less energetic than the young hero. Another very helpful way to distinguish the two even further.

"That was a Bullbo?" Twilight muttered quietly in disbelief. "That looked more like one of Wild's boars."

"Wild's boars don't need a couple of cannons to bring down," Four pointed out. Hyrule held up a hand with uncertainty, his brow furrowed together as he wore an expression that spoke volumes on how lost he was. "Um, what's a train?"

It wouldn't be the first time that Hyrule was at a loss due to something everyone else had that his world did not. However, the brunette looked rather relieved when nobody else had an answer for him. Except for the teenager however, as he regarded the group with a perplexed expression of his own.

"You guys must be from off the mainland then, huh?" The teenager rubbed the back of his head with a sigh. "Didn't anyone at the docks tell you guys about how dangerous it is to travel on foot? Spirits, Princess Zelda is going to have someone's head if they didn't."

The group exchanged glances with one another. Wind had said that the ocean looked like his (how he could tell _that_ _,_ Four felt like he would never know), yet everything this teenager was saying seemed to indicate that they were in a different Hyrule. If not Wind's then whose?

"Excuse me?" Sky stepped forward. The teenager glanced over at him and Hyrule's question went unanswered. "We happened to get turned around. Where are we exactly?"

Something akin to suspicion darted through the teenager's eyes and Four had a feeling that this was no ordinary kid. Regardless, the expression was gone before Four could properly dissect it and the teenager had on a crooked grin.

"Why, the Forest Realm, of course. It's one of the five regions here in the kingdom."

"You call your different regions 'realms'." Legend asked. He had his hands resting on his hips with a brow arched. The teenager raised his hands apologetically.

"It wasn't me who came up with it; you can blame our Founder's for that. Look, do you guys have a destination or something? If not, I can give you a ride to the closest village. Right now you guys were heading to Aboda Village and it'll take all day walking just to get there. Nighttime gets pretty dangerous in New Hyrule."

Four blinked in surprise. Did he just say _New_ Hyrule? In every era they've been to, it's just been Hyrule (sans Wind's Great Sea). That meant that this Hyrule had to come at the end of someone else's timeline. Hyrule's? Warriors'? Wild's? Four pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation as his mind ran rampant over the mess that they established as a timeline (it was more like crisscrossed strings instead of a line). This did mean a new Link, however. It's long since been established that a new Hyrule meant a new Hero.

"Actually," Time spoke up. "We're looking for someone."

The teenager incline an eyebrow as he leaned over the side of his machine. "Well, you're in luck. As an engineer, I know the names and faces of everybody in the kingdom. Just give me a name and I'll see what I can do."

"We're looking for Link."

Any expression on the teenager face had carefully wipe blank. No matter how hard Four tried, he couldn't get a read on him. Definitely not an normal kid.

"Link, huh?" The young engineer held his chin in his hand, his features relaxed slightly as his brows knitted together in thought. "Why, did you guys want a pictograph or something? I don't think he's in to doing stuff like that."

"So you do know him," Warriors commented.

"I know _of_ him. Everyone calls him a hero and whatnot, but he's really just a ordinary person trying to go about his day. If you guys don't have a legitimate reason to see him, I'm not going to bother."

"We're family," Wind spoke up. Four glanced over at the sailor in surprise. The family card usually worked with people that didn't know a Link well. This teenager seemed to know a lot about this world's Link despite what he had said. It was in the tone of his voice. There was no way that the engineer was going to believe it.

Yet... Four's brows knitted together as he observed the teenager staring at Wind. His eyes were wide and mouth was parted slightly in disbelief. It was almost as though he found himself looking at a ghost.

"You." The engineer jabbed a finger in Wind's direction. "What's your name?"

The sailor looked taken aback. It was completely understandable because no one had been called out like that before. And to single out the unassuming kid... "Wind?"

The teenager's eyes narrowed and he didn't look the least bit satisfied with Wind's answer. Without saying anything, he hopped off his machine and walked over to Wind with purposeful strides. Everyone's hands flitted towards the hilt of their swords. Four's mind was on Wild's Yiga and wondered if this was another Hyrule where people have turned their backs on the crown. The teenager came to a stop in front of Wind with his gaze flicking between the two closest to the him, Warriors and Sky, before ignoring them and regarded the sailor instead. "What's your _real_ name?"

It was both a surprise and yet not that the engineer had called Wind out on his nickname. Still, it wasn't like Warriors, or Four, or Hyrule, or, Goddess forbid, _Legend._ What was more perplexing was the fact that a _teenager_ had been the first to call it out instead of the many adults that the Links had introduced themselves to. Wind glanced over at Time as though asking permission. The elder was watching the engineer with a contemplative look before he gave a single nod of his consent. The young sailor breathed in.

"Link."

The engineer didn't even bat an eye. In fact, he actually looked like he expected it. Still, that serious expression of his didn't change and he pulled off the glove on his left hand before extending it to Wind. "Nice to meet you."

Wind hesitated for a split moment before he held the teenager's hand with his own and gave it a firm, single shake. The engineer quickly pulled back his hand afterwards and regarded the group with a large, beaming smile. It was such a sudden 180° that Four felt like he had been given whiplash.

"Alrighty. If you wanna find Link, the easiest way is to go to the castle. Princess Zelda and him are pretty close. I can give you a ride and an audience, but the carriage will be a tight squeeze for all of you."

"An engineer could see the princess just like that?" Four couldn't help but ask. In all actuality, an engineer sounded like a carriage driver and one doesn't see many carriage drivers having such access to royalty.

"Only the Royal Engineers can. Today must be your lucky day, because I just so happen to be one." The engineer waved at them to follow. "Come on, let's get you guys on board."

They followed him to the carriage, where the engineer held the door open and looked at the group expectantly. "Like I said, it'll be a tight squeeze. The carriage can hold six people comfortably. Eight if you don't mind the lack of space."

"The will leave one man out," Twilight stated. "We might need to double up."

Four suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. That means that either he or Wind would have to sit on someone's lap, and Wind would throw a fit about it. Oh, not that Four would be any better, because he would find that rather embarrassing himself.

"That's not a problem," the teenager replied. "One of you guys can ride up front with me."

All Four understood at that moment was that he would not be subjected to humiliation and decided to repay the teenager somehow for his mercy.

Twilight blinked. "Okay, then either me or the old man could–"

"Yeah, no." The engineer threw his arm over Wind's shoulder and flashed the rancher a crooked grin. "I want Link, or Wind, if that's what he prefers. He'll be working the cannon with me up front. It'll be easier to drive if someone is there to keep the monsters off the train."

"Woah, really?" Wind beamed. So that giant machine the engineer drives was a train. There was an answer to that question. It would be interesting to figure out how it worked.

Twilight, on the other hand, was not sharing Four's inner musings. He appeared appalled at the fact that the sailor would even be operating the cannon. "It might be better if one of the older ones are with you. It'll give the others more space, and I'm sure that some of us have experience with cannons."

Wind glared at Twilight. "Are you fucking serious?!"

"I'm just saying–"

"Oh, I hear what you are saying. And I _have_ experience. Why don't you let me–"

"He's going up there with me, end of story."

Wind shot the engineer a dirty look at the interruption, but grew surprised when he finally processed what had been said. It was understandable, since everyone save for Time, Legend, and Four himself went out of their way to shield the younger hero to the best of their ability. The teenager regarded Twilight with a look that basically dared him to argue.

"My train, my rules, my say. If you don't like it, you can walk." He let go of Wind and pointed northeast. "Castle Town is in that direction. Just follow the large Tower and it'll be right beside it."

Twilight opened his mouth to speak, but Time placed a placating hand on his shoulder and quelled him. "That'll be fine. I'm sure we can manage."

Wind grinned and Time started urging the other heroes into the carriage. Legend grumbled under his breath when they settled. It was mostly because he was starting an arguement with Warriors, of which Time dissolved by conveniently sitting in between them. Nobody wanted to mess with Time.

Four sighed quietly as he sat between Warriors and the door. He felt sorry for Twilight, he was sitting between Hyrule and Wild with Sky on the other side of the latter. Those three were the most free-spirited, and so it was only natural that they didn't like being cramped in a small space such as this. The end result, the rancher was stuck between the squirming heroes. Well, at least Wind looked pleased and Four had to admit that he was kind of entertained. Twilight was obviously regretting his life's choices.

"You'll obviously hear cannon fire, but if the train jolts, try not to worry about it too much." The engineer lingered by the door and raked his gaze over each of the heroes, pausing only briefly to take in Twilight's discomfort. His lips twitched into a very subtle smirk before he looked towards Time. "It's under control."

"That doesn't sound under control to me," Hyrule muttered quietly. The engineer responded with a cheeky grin, a wink, and pointed his fingers at Hyrule with his thumbs up while he clicked his tongue.

Then he shut the door, leaving the rest of the heroes to wonder if they put their lives in the hands of the right person. He certainly was a character. It wasn't until the train began moving that he realized that nobody had asked the teenager his name. Well, that could wait until they reached Castle Town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this a bunch of times and the final product is the first time that any of Wind's "they treat me like a kid" shows up in this chapter. I'm keeping it in, because why not.
> 
> Here's my idea of the Hero of Spirit's attire. Engineer clothes but with a gray bandana tied around his neck, the engineer hat, the Lokomo Sword, and a version of the Phantom's shield that's to fit his size. Yeah, I basically only changed two things because he's unique enough without any of the extra stuff.

**Author's Note:**

> I know I made the "boar" a bit powerful, but when you think about it... those things slam into the train with enough force to shake it and run off completely fine. And it takes two cannonballs to take it down. Plus, I have a reason, sooo.


End file.
